Black Dawn Delos's POV
by rcl123321
Summary: This is pretty self explanitory. It is Black Dawn in Delos's point of view. Hope you enjoy! I do not own any part of the night world series
1. Chapter 1

This was boring him. Hunting trips are always the same. We catch a few meals, they struggle, we kill them, the usual. Delos sighed. Not to mention that Sylvia's constant chatter was annoying him. The hunting party was particularly small, just him, Sylvia, the falcon she always carried with her, and a few worthless slaves.

Delos quickly decided he had to get away. While the party's back was turned, he made his escape. Ha, made his escape, that made him sound like some captured vermin. Unfortunately, it was all he could do if he wanted to leave the hunting party, who seemed to always be watching him a little too closely.

He ran fast, his vampire abilities making him almost a blur in the colorless forest. He stopped when he thought he was far enough away. He had ended up on a high cliff, a place he came to a lot. He knew this area fairly well. He knew that there was a cave not too far away; he also knew that his hunting party was still all they way on the other side of the forest.

Sounds from below the ledge caught his attention. He looked and saw that a burly shapeshifter was fighting a human slave. Another lanky shapeshifter was off to the side, watching them with an ugly sneer. The human was holding a stick towards the shapeshifter threateningly. He almost laughed. That stick would do no damage to the _shapeshifter._ Only a vampire, like himself, could get harmed by that wretched twig. The shapeshifter lunged at the girl—vermin. The slave thrust the stick at his feet and twisted, probably trying to trip him. Delos smirked, I will enjoy watching this vermin girl die, he thought. The shapeshifter merely stumbled, and aggressively pulled the stick out the slave's hands. Then he made the worst mistake of his life—he threw it. The wood came straight towards Delos. His smirk and amusement quickly faded, replaced by fury that this servant would dare try to hurt him, the prince. He knocked it out of the way before it could do any damage.

He was dangerously angry. He picked up the stick and made a cut in his left wrist, drawing blood. Unfortunately, making himself bleed was the only way to let his power out. He took a deep breath as the shapeshifter morphed into a bear. He felt the power inside him building. He raised his left arm towards the servant bear, and unleashed his fury.

The blue fire struck the shapeshifter, causing him to shake uncontrollably. The girl was still in his arms as he moved toward the edge of the cliff. They were both going to fall, and they were both going to die. Delos had an abrupt, inexplicable urge to free the girl from the death grip. He shook it off, the human girl was most definitely not worth saving anyway, she was only vermin. Once Delos was sure the shapeshifter was going to die, he lowered his arm, cutting off his power while he took out a handkerchief to clean his wrist. Out of the corner of his eyes he watched as the scared lanky shapeshifter scampered away and the human girl broke free of the bear's grasp. He felt relief as the guy tumbled over the edge without the girl. Again he shook it off and continued with his wrist.

"_Thank you,_" her smooth voice drifted up towards him. He didn't want her thanks; He wanted her to leave him alone.

"For what?" He didn't look up but he knew she was staring directly at him.

"For saving us. I mean you did that, didn't you?" Her voice had an edge of uncertainty.

Now he did look up. "Did what?" Now she was starting to bug him. But she just stared at him with an astonished expression. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. For the first time, he got a good look at her. She had warm autumn colored hair and deep, sorrel colored eyes that he couldn't seem to look away from. She still didn't say anything. He was getting impatient.

"That . . . thing." She wiggled her fingers. "That thing that knocked him off the cliff. You did that." Well, duh.

"The blue fire. Of course I did. Who else has the Power? But I didn't do it for you." Why would he want to save a worthless human? Let alone his human slave. He should punish her, she was probably trying to escape earlier.

"Well, why did you do it then?" she asked.

Delos looked down at the wooden stick that was at his feet. "He threw a stick at me. Wood. So I killed him." And he wasn't sorry about it. He shrugged. "Simple as that." He suddenly wanted to make something very clear to her—and himself. "I couldn't care less what he was doing to you. You're only a slave. He was only a shapeshifter with the brain of a bear. Neither of you matter."

"Well—it doesn't matter why you did it. It still saved both of us—" she broke off, looking away and running toward another girl that he hadn't noticed before.

The other slave girl was lying limply in a hollow, her body slumped against the rock wall. She had dark hair and skin the color of coffee and cream. And she was dying. With his vampire senses, Delos could hear that she was alive, but her breathing was struggled and her heart was weak.

"Cady!" she called. "Can you hear me?" She seemed very concerned for the other girl's health. But helping the sick girl was a waste of time and energy because she wasn't going to last long.

He decided to ignore the two slaves, they weren't worth his time. He took out his canteen and unscrewed the lid, taking a heady gulp. He was about to walk away when he heard her voice again. He tried to ignore the fact that the sound of her voice can make him stop everything he's doing.

"Please," she begged. "Can we have some of that? Can you drop it to me? I'll catch it."

Why was she still speaking to me? he thought. Why would she expect me to help her at all? But, the thing is a part of him _did_ want to help her, though he wouldn't admit it.

He looked at her sharply. "And how am I suppose to get it back?"

"I'll bring it to you. I can climb up." I doubt that, he thought.

"You can't."

A look of defiance and determination crossed her face. "Watch me."

The human climbed up. She was pretty good he had to admit. Fast and skilled. Once she got to the top, he shrugged.

"You're quick." Delos held out the leather bag. "Here."

But she didn't take it. In fact, she didn't move at all. She just stared at him, a look of recognition on her face. What was wrong with her? Why wasn't she speaking?

In a dazed voice, she said, "I'm Maggie Neely. What's your name?"

_What did she just say?_ He was taken aback. Didn't she know who he was? Didn't all slaves know better than to speak out like that? "How dare you ask?"

To his utter astonishment, she said, "I had a dream about you. At least—it wasn't _me_ having the dream; it was more as if it was sent to me. You kept telling me I had to do something . . ."

"I don't give a damn about your dreams." Delos said curtly. She still hadn't taken the canteen. "Now, do you want the water or not?"

She looked at the water longingly as she reached out for it. When she had grabbed the bag, he still didn't let go. He didn't want her to waste it. "There's only enough for one. Drink it here."

Maggie—the vermin girl blinked as a look of disappointment flashed in her eyes. She tugged at it a bit and there was a faint sloshing sound from the bag. Definitely not enough for her and the dying girl.

"Cady needs some too. She's sick."

"She's more than sick. She's almost gone. There's no point in wasting any on her."

She tugged at the bag a bit harder. His patience was wearing thin. If he wanted to, he could snap her neck right now and not feel the least guilty about it. Yet she still was stubbornly refusing what he was telling her.

"If I want to share with her, that's my business, right? Why should it matter to you?"

"Because it's stupid. There's only enough for one?"

Her eyes were wide with defiance. Defiance against . . . _me._ "Look," she started.

He cut her off. "You're not afraid of me are you?" She was like no one he had ever met before. She didn't care that she was probably extremely weak from thirst and she didn't care that she was mouthing off to a stranger in a different , more dangerous world than she could ever imagine. All she cared about was . . . was helping her friend.

Delos quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, it's my water. And I say there is only enough for one. You were stupid to try and protect her before, when you could have gotten away . Now you have to forget about her."

"Fine," she said curtly. "It's your water. And there's only enough for one." He let go when she pulled at the water harder, and then she turned away from him, looking down at the boulders below. She seemed to be judging the distance, as if she were going to jump.

She held her arm out, as if she were about to drop the water down the ledge. He knew she would soon be following.

"Wait!" Delos reached out and grabbed her wrists, trying to keep her from leaving his sight. What the _hell_ is she doing? He voiced his thoughts. "What do you think your doing?" He found himself looking into startled, beautiful brown eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

"What are you doing?" Delos repeated, his voice as cold as a glacier. Truthfully he had no idea what was making him so mad. Why should he care if this girl wanted to waste the water and die of thirst? That thought made him even more angry and he unconsciously tightened the hold on her wrist.

Her mouth was hanging open in surprise at his sudden outburst. "I'm throwing the water bag down there," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He ignored her sarcasm. "I know that! _Why?_"

"Because it's easier than carrying it down in my teeth." Delos knew that wasn't the real reason. She most likely wanted to not have the temptation of water by her mouth. Why is she doing this? Delos thought for the tenth time. Why is she stupid enough to throw away her life just to help her dying friend?

"You're an idiot. You should listen to your body; it's telling you what it needs. You can't ignore thirst. You can't deny it." He should know.

"Yes, you can," she said with no emotion.

By then, he had lost all patience. Perhaps scaring her would make her come to her senses. He quickly made his decision. "You can't. I should know."

Then he showed her his fangs. He really should have known better than to let his fangs down while there is fresh blood around. People have told him it was too dangerous; that the castle had lost servants and slaves that way, in the past. But Delos had no desire to drink her blood; no desire to hurt her at all. Snap out of it Delos!! He scolded himself. She is only a human. She's vermin—nothing more than crud at the bottom of your shoe.

He smirked at her shocked expression as he changed. He knew what she was seeing. His face paled, almost the deathly white of a corpse. The hunger glowed in his eyes as they always did while hunting. His pupils were widening, becoming aware of even the slightest movement around him. But worst of all, she saw his mouth as his fangs lengthened, prepared to attack at any moment.

But the look in her eyes wasn't fear. It was readiness and purpose, like someone about to go into war.

"Maybe you can't ignore your kind of thirst," she said. Her voice was steady. "But I'm fine. Except that you're hurting my wrist. Can you please let go?" How dare she say that! What the hell is she _thinking?_

Delos let go of her wrist before he could decide if he wanted to break it. Her arm sagged limply, probably numb from cutting off her circulation. His water bag dropped to the ground, landing at her feet. She rubbed her hand, not looking at him.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" He had never encountered someone like this girl before. She didn't seem to be the least affected by what and who he is. It made him feel smaller, weaker. He didn't like that feeling.

He felt his fangs go back to normal teeth and his appearances turn average again.

"Yes. But what good is it, being afraid?" She was still rubbing her hand. "If you're going to try to hurt me, I'll fight back. And so far, you haven't tried to hurt me. You've only helped me."

"I told you, I didn't do it for _you_. And you'll never survive if you keep on being insane like this."

"Insane like what?" Now she did look up, her eyes meeting his with an unwavering gaze.

"Trusting people." Delos was really questioning her mental condition. "Taking care of people. Don't you know that only the strong ones make it? Weak people are dead weight—and if you try to help them, they'll drag you down with them."

"Cady isn't weak. She's _sick._ She'll get better—if she gets the chance. And if we don't take care of each other, what's going to happen to all of us?"

Delos just stood there, frustrated at her logic. She stared back at him, not giving up easily.

"I'd better give it to her now. I'll bring your canteen back." She picked up the water.

"Wait." Delos was tempted to reach out at her again, but he didn't.

She raised her eyebrows at me. "What?"

"Follow me." I turned without waiting for her. If she was smart she will follow me, if not, the humans will both die, he thought. "Bring the bag."

She hesitated, then he heard her light footsteps follow him. The land was familiar and he knew exactly where he was going. The path was narrow and rough, jagged pieces of slate sticking out of the walls.

I turned into an entrance in the rock wall. The entrance was small and narrow; Delos had to get practically on all fours to get in. But inside the cave was larger, the temperature warmer and the moisture thick in the air. There was barely any light, but with his vampire senses, Delos could see as well as any time of the day. But he knew the girl couldn't see much.

Delos took a match from his pocket and lit the stone lamp that was carved out of the wall. The room lit up, enough for her to be able to see. He glanced back at her. She was gasping, looking around the cave with a look of astonishment. Then her eyes landed by my feet, at the small flow of water there.

"It's a pool," Delos told her. "Spring fed. The water's cold, but it's good." She didn't seem to have heard him.

A look of desire and lust came in her eyes. She took the few steps toward the pool and collapsed, all but dunking her head in the water. He watched as she cupped the water in her hand as if it were a sacred jewel. She slowly brought the water to her moth and her eyes closed in pure bliss as she drank. She continued to cup the water in her hand and drink for the next few minutes. Delos was shocked at how thirsty she must have been.

In the light of the torch, her hair was more of a red color than brown. The light reflected off her skin, making her look like a warrior goddess. He had never seen anything or anyone as beautiful or strong or brave in his life. He probably never would.

Just then she stopped drinking, pulling the leather water bag toward her and dunking it into the water.

"What is that for?" Delos knew the answer to his question before he even spoke.

"Cady. I have to get back to her." She sat back on her heels and looked at him with a grateful expression.

"Thank you," she whispered in a shaky voice. "I think you probably saved my life again."

He knew he did. "You were really thirsty."

"Yeah," she agreed, standing up.

"But when you thought there wasn't enough water, you were going to give it to her." _Why?_

"Yeah."

Delos thought about this. "Even if it meant you dying?"

"I didn't die. And I wasn't planning to. But—yeah, I guess, if there wasn't any other choice."

Why would she die for another person? That's practically suicide. "I took _responsibility_ for her."

She spoke as if she was trying to explain something to a child. "It's like when you take in a cat

or—or it's like being queen or something. If you say you're going to be responsible for your subjects, you are. You owe them afterward."

Responsibility? Though he was the prince, he had never been responsible for anything or anyone before, except for himself.

"It's not _that_ weird, people taking care of each other. Doesn't anybody do it here?"

Delos gave a humorless laugh. "Hardly. The nobles know how to take care of themselves. And the slaves have to fight each other to stay alive." He thought of something "All of which you should know. But of course you're not from here. Your from Outside."

"I didn't know if you _knew_ about the Outside."

"There isn't supposed to be any contact. There wasn't for about five hundred years. But when my—when the old king died, they opened the pass again and started bringing in slaves from the outside world. New blood." Delos said it matter-of-factly.

Delos had at first been a bit bothered by this. But he—over time—grew to see how they weren't doing any wrong. They were merely clearing the earth of some weak vermin.

"And you think that's okay," she sounded really angry. Had she not been a human, he would have flinched. "Grabbing people the outside world and dragging them in here to be slaves."

His resolve didn't waver. "Not people. Humans. Humans are vermin; they're not intelligent." Delos looked right at her. His face gave away no emotion. But what he was thinking was _did I not tell her what I am capable of? How dare she show this disrespect to her . . . her _master?

"Are you _crazy?_ You're talking to a human right now. Am I intelligent or not?"

She _was_ intelligent. Probably one of the most intelligent humans he had ever met. Intelligent and strong and brave and compassionate and beautiful and—_get a grip Delos!! _He mentally snapped himself out of it, almost glaring at her. What is she doing to me?

He spoke, short and to the point. "You're a slave without any manners. And law says I could kill you for the way you're talking to me."

She seemed to be thinking about something for a few moments. Then, abruptly, she stepped forward, closing the space between them and getting in his face. He wanted to cringe. She said, "In my dream, you cared about at least one human. You wanted to take care of me."

"You shouldn't even be _allowed_ to dream about me." His voice was cold and fierce, but when she looked up at him directly in the eyes, he did something that surprised even himself. He stepped back. His back was now against the cave wall.

Her face was flushed with anger. "Why not? Because I'm a slave? I'm a _person_." She took another step toward him, closing the distance once again. He fought back the urge to gulp from this proximity. "And I don't believe you're as bad as you say you are. I think I saw what you were really like in my dream." _What dream?_ Though he didn't know why, part of him really didn't find it so strange that he would want to protect her. He would never admit it though, not even to himself.

"You're crazy. Why should I want to take care of you? What's so special about you?"

He felt a pang as tears sprung to her eyes. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'm nobody special. There _isn't_ any reason for you to care about me. But it doesn't matter. You saved my life when Bern was going to kill me, and you gave me water when you knew I needed it. You can talk all you want, but those are facts. Maybe you just care about everybody, underneath. Or—" She didn't get to finish the last sentence. Because before he knew it, Delos was lost.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.) For those of you who read this, I am sorry I haven't updated in a while. But if I get a lot of good reviews I might be motivated to update quicker. Hint hint, nudge nudge. Anyway, I know it's short but I'm trying to go with the chapters of the book. Enjoy!**

Or at least, that's what it felt like. She was talking—rambling actually—and Delos recoiled as she reached toward him. His heart suddenly quickened and he feared touching her for some reason. But, she shot her hand forward catching his wrist before he could step away. Something was different this time from when he had touched her before, though. Earlier, when Delos grabbed her arms, her thin jacket sleeve was a tiny barrier between their flesh. But now, now she touched her bare hand with his bare wrist. Skin on skin.

His soul—if he had one—felt as if it were being ripped away from his body, into an unfamiliar place. The glow of the lamps in the cave, the tinkling of the water pouring into the pool from a leak in a mountain river, the pinkish sky of the setting sun, all outside world fell away as soon as her skin touched his.

He felt sort of as if he was being electrocuted. _This must be what people feel when I'm hitting them with my blue fire,_ he thought groggily. But this strangely didn't feel like pain. It felt good. He felt as if he were being wrapped in a warm, soft golden blanket. He felt as if he were taking a deep breath full of cool, clean air after holding his breath for ten minutes. He felt as if all his life he had been walking around with half a soul, half a being, and now the other half was right here in his hold. He felt complete, wholesome; he felt that nothing could ever bother him in this place of tranquility and peacefulness.

He absolutely hated every second of it.

He had no idea what was happening to him. _That peasant, _he thought bitterly._ She must have done something to me. She must have stabbed me with a hidden piece of wood. I'll kill her. . . _But no, he was dimly aware of another significant presence. He knew that the girl—Maggie—wasn't doing anything to harm him. The same thing was happening to her, and she was just as confused as he was.

He suddenly regretted ever leaving the hunting party, regardless how hit-yourself-with-a-rock-because-of-how-bored-you-are he felt. He would have rather went through one hundred hours of that kind of boredom then have ever been this defenseless, to have ever met _her_, to have ever felt this way.

This felt as if there was an outside force tying to open a channel between him and Maggie, if that makes any sense at all. It felt as if something invincible was connecting his mind to hers. He desperately struggled to get a firm grip on reality, and horribly failed. He sucked in an uneasy breath, overwhelmed by the intensity of this peculiar sensation.

And then they were falling, well, at least their physical forms were. Maggie was the first to fall, and Delos caught her readily. But then his own knees caved under him, but he refused to fall, staying on his knees, Maggie still in his arms.

He had never felt so weak in his entire life. He had always been the best, the strongest, the most powerful. He was Prince Delos, and he was unstoppable.

But now he was confused, weak, shocked, raged, ashamed, and a bit afraid all because of her. _Her._ The beautiful and courageous human girl with the lovely brown eyes and auburn hair. The girl who, in the short time he's known her, has shown him the good in people and who made him feel just a bit guilty for all of the hurt he's handed out over the years. The girl who was putting him in the horrible situation he was in.

_What are you doing to me?_ The thought was his own and his alone. He was not expecting at all what happened next.

_I don't know . . . I'm not doing it . . . I don't understand!_ This thought was most definitely not his. It was hers. But he heard it as clear as if he had been thinking it himself. A pure line of communication had opened between them. It was an awful sensation. But yet it was as if some part of him wanted to believe it was magnificent all at the same time.

He wanted to get out of her head. He hated being so exposed like this. He felt as if walking around naked in a crowd full of snickering strangers wouldn't be as bad as this.

Then more of her thoughts came his way. _This is how people are supposed to be. Joined like this. Open to each other. With nothing hidden and no stupid walls between them._

His walls were what held his life together. He was not about to let her take them down without a fight.

_No!_ The word was short. He was afraid that if he talked too much, this might not go away. He didn't want this at all. He was . . . afraid. He wanted to get out.

_Well, I do, too. _Damn, she must be able to sense what I'm feeling too. Was there _any_ way out of this hellhole?

He sent another quick message, still not risking the chance of being stuck like this. _It's alright for you. Because you don't have anything to be ashamed of!_ He instantly regretted 'saying' that. Now she knew he felt ashamed.

_What do you mean? Wait . . . Delos._ She was learning things about him without even having to want to. Just as he was with her. Her name was Maggie Neely. She had an older brother who she admired, and a mom who was an awful cook and a dad who could probably be a master chef. She loved them all very much. All of them enjoyed each others company and they took family trips a lot. _They were the type of perfect family you'd see on a commercial,_ Delos thought bitterly. Luckily, she was too busy pointing her nose into _his_ life to notice.

_The old king was your father. And he died three years ago. When you were fourteen. You've been ruling ever since._

He didn't like thinking about his past, let alone hearing it from a stranger. He tried with all his might to break the connection. He tugged and pushed and pulled all to no avail.

_It's none of your business,_ Delos snarled.

_Please wait,_ she tried to get closer to his recoiling mind. But then something absolutely terrible happened. He entered her mind.


End file.
